Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought this Bolivian in November of 05 I believe. It fed, shed, pooped, did everything a healthy Boa would do. In June, over a 2 or 3 day period, her skin went lose and she lost alot of muscle tone. Nothing changed in the surrounding environment, she wasn't exposed to any chemicals/toxins that I know of. She has been like this ever since. She still is growing, shedding, and feeding, but she has never regained any kind of muscle tone. She is now starting to get lumpy ( like fat lumps ), but is still lose and kind of "mushy" to the touch. Not like your typical muscular Boa. I know this topic has been brought up in the past, but it was years ago and I believe it was someone from Europe ( I don't think it was Hermann ) that had the same problem. I thought that she might eventually outgrow whatever it is, but I'm starting to think she won't and may die young because of it. The picture was taken in early December. I'm working on getting some current pictures

Is it WC or CB?
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- Mike Fourquet

Cloaca Herpetoculture
www.CloacaHerps.com

Bolivians havn't been imported for quite a few years. Mid 90's I think the last few came into the country. She was produced by Dennis Seargent in 05' in September? I believe

happening, and saw a young amarali with that condition at a small show from a vendor who sells on KS.

I have no idea what causes it. My guess, because these are delicate boas (must be kept under strict husbandry) it could be something in your care pracitices. Might be from a bad food source (the thing that usually goes wrong in an otherwise perfect collection). It might be due to the small gene pool. I have also seen this in a few Kahl Albinos. I can't think of any other boas that I've encountered with these ailments. There has to be some cause, but I don't know what, or how to check for it.

It might be worth getting blood work done just to see if that shows anything.

The reason I asked if it was Wc is because it sounds like a paracite load to me. I was unaware they arent being imported anymore, as Im not as well versed in Bcc politics as I should be ::shame::.

In any even with the breakdown of mucle mass, a flabby feeling, and soft growths could all poin to paracites. I would take it to a vet and have it checked.
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- Mike Fourquet

Cloaca Herpetoculture
www.CloacaHerps.com

of the food source.

It isn't Boa constrictor constrictor the poster has a B.c.amarali. BCC are still imported it is amarali that have been haulted.

I've seen this happen in a couple Females that had a hard time being gravid. They drop their litter, go flabby, and usually crash a week or two after that. I believe I've heard this happeneing in South Brazilian Amarali also. I've never had any husbandry issues with her, though I can't really say thier wasn't any. Parasites are just about non existant. I don't know, maybe it's something I'm over looking. Like I said, I thought she might regain herself as she grows, but I don't think its going to happen

Is she like this when you are holding her or just when she is in her enclosure?
I ask because we had one boa that we purchased, that ended up having a degenerative spinal condition that would relax completely when in her enclosure to relieve the pain. She appeared flat and mushy when in her house, but when moved would get very stiff.
We ended up putting her down after trying a couple different treatments, none of which helped.
Have you had her to a vet for x-rays yet?

Kathy

I also have a Dennis Sargent '05 Bolivian. I wonder if yours and mine are littermates...they certainly look a lot alike. Did you get yours directly from Dennis or Incredible Pets...or somewhere else?

Anyhoo, unfortunately, I don't have anything helpful to report. My girl doesn't seem to have any looseness to her muscle tone, but your post makes me a little worried. I will definitely keep an eye on how she grows.

On a possibly related note, how often does your BCA defecate? I've noticed that mine almost never defecates (or urinates, for that matter) inside of her enclosure, but only after a few minutes of handling. At first, I just chalked this behavior up to her being a juvenile snake, but it's persisted for such a long time now that I'm starting to wonder what the deal is. I mean, apart from the sheer fact that it's really annoying to get pissed/pooped on almost every time I handle her, it might be an indication of something else more worthy of concern. Have you noticed anything like this yourself?

I've attached a couple of pics to show you how similar my BCA appears to be to yours.

as a general rule a slower metabolism than other boas. So your boa probably just gets more exercise when you hold it, which encourages it to defecate.

I have an '04 from Kevin Barnett and an '03 from Barry Miller. Never a single problem with either, they are both the stongest boas I own. They must be taken slowly. My female ('03) is about 4.5-5ft. long and is fed on a large rat weekly unless in shed. The male ('04) is about 3ft. long and is fed on a weanling rat weekly. In comparisson every other '04 I have is way past my male. My '05 Leopard and Type II Anery are at the same point my '04 Bolivian is. Amarali grow much slower, problems can arrise from speeding this up. I expect mine to be ready to pair up in '08. While this year I will be pairing up some '04 imperator (one pair, they seem to be the exception and are just ready sooner than my others despite no difference in being raised).

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